. hello. i'm jc hayward. thanks for joining us. today jury selection begins in the murder trial of george huguely. es ate former university of -- he's the former university of virginia lacrosse player accused of killing the woman's

lacrosse player yeardley love. he's accused of killing love during a fight over their relationship. since love's death, people at uva say that the student body has changed. >> we all have the ability to take responsibility for one person's actions and be able to confront what could be a danger later on. >> while prosecutors say that huguely killed love, his lawyers are expected to argue that she died from an irregular heart beat after combining prescription medication with alcohol. opening statements could begin as soon as tomorrow. we've heard so many indications about an abundance of evidence against huguely. how difficult will it be for the defense to prove otherwise? we've asked shelley brotherette, dean. the district of columbia school of law to come here today to give us some analysis. how difficult will it be? >> it's a mountain to climb for sure. the evidence against him includes the fact that she was

found in a pool of blood face down in her dorm room. on the other hand, when her roommates first found her, they assumed it was alcohol related what was wrong with her and they called the ambulance to talk about that. she had a 1.4 blood level from alcohol. legal limit is .8 so she had been drinking quite a bit. and she takes add rel -- aider roll which is attention deficit medication and that with the alcohol could have caused this to happen. >> huguely has already admitted some things that are quite damaging like he slammed her up against the wall. >> the question is a, did he go there with the intention of killing her? did he premeditate this crime? dethink about going there to kill her? there's no indication of any kind that we know of now that he did. they had been sweethearts for

two years just until a week or two before. he has no violent history. he was graduating on time, his childhood friends say great kid, quiet. never saw anything of the kind coming. >> jury selection is now going to be under way. what will prosecutors and defense attorneys be looking for in a juror? >> well, as a defense attorney myself for many years, i would be looking for somebody willing to listen to the medical evidence because sure, obviously two things happened here. there was some trauma. huguely did push her head against the wall. it's clear from his own admission that that happened. but the medical history has got to show that that could have caused it. so you have to have an open mind to really listen to what

the doctors say. >> did he have a prior arrest? >> yes, he did. it did not involve violence. he was drunk and stumbling into the road and he was verbally abusive to a female officer, nothing anyone would like to have in their record but nothing violent. there wasn't any evidence of hitting or pushing or shoving, even after she tased him. he was aggressive but verbally. and that's a huge difference from what we see here. >> we're going to be following this case of course very closely. we thank you for being here today. we want you to come back and help us get through this because it's going to be very complicated. dean broderick from the university of the district of columbia school of law. right now at this hour, a funeral service for alexandria activist lenny harris is about to wrap up. rareharris' body was recovered

last weekend -- harris' body was recovered from the bottom of a well last week. police say he was shot to death and they have arrested two suspects. this afternoon a reception for harris' family and friends will be held at the charles houston recreation center. the place where harris was last seen alive in september. now police may never know what happened to a utah mother who had been missing for two years. susan powell's husband josh was considered a person of interest in her disappearance, but police say that yesterday he blew up his home in washington state. he killed himself and he also killed the couple's two young sons. powell was fairing badly in a custody battle with his wife's parents. a major river in queensland, australia has peaked at the highest level ever on record. thousands of people are being evacuated from the city of st. george just in case a levee still under construction does

not hold. flood warnings have been issued for more than a dozen other rivers. it's the 60th anniversary of queen elizabeth ii's reign. in 1962 she was sentenced to the thrown. she is the second longest reigning english monarch after queen victoria. let's take a look at campaign 2012. the republican presidential hopfuls have one full day of campaigning level before tomorrow's caucuses in colorado and minnesota. mitt romney is hoping to surge ahead after a convincing win on saturday in the nevada caucuses. while he focuses mostly on attacking obama's record, his rivals say the race for the

nomination is not over yet. >> my goal is with governor perry's help and others to have basically be about tied in delegates. >> i get energized because i know there are a large number of people who are looking for another option. >> i think we're going to show improvement. this race is a long way from being over. >> president obama made his case for reelection on sunday in an interview that aired just before the super bowl. the president touted friday's drop in unemployment as a sign that the economy is improving. the effort to put d.c. mayor vincent gray up for a recalled vote is running into some money problems. according to the washington examiner, it has only $12 in its war chest. the organizer behind the effort calls it a bump in the road. 45,000 petition signatures are needed in order for a recall. former d.c. mayoral candidate sulaimon brown is headed back to court today. he's going on trial.

he's accused of driving without a valid license. he was arrested last september. in a september case brown says d.c. mayor vincent gray's campaign paid him and promised him a job for attacking then mayor adrienne fenty during the 2010 mayor's race. a man who got drunk and then behind the wheel is grateful for his second chance at life. tonight on 9news now at 11:00, andrea mccarren takes us to the university of maryland shock trauma center in baltimore. that's where she met a young man just minutes before he went into surgery. andrea joins me now with more information on this young man. that was very profound, wasn't it, that meeting? >> oh, what a story, what a meeting, jc. his name is dillon and he admits he was driving drunk. all he remembers is waking up outside his mangled truck shaking, bleeding and thinking that his short life was about to end. >> i wanted to fight.

i wanted to liver. i wanted to stay here -- to live. i wanted to stay here and i did that. >> reporter: driving drunk on a cold january night, dillon lost control of his truck, hit a telephone pole and flipped over. >> for some people they don't get this lucky. they don't get this second chance. >> that's right, you don't get a second chance. that's so important for these young people to know. >> i know. i really hope of all of the stories we've done, this one is the one that appeals to the teenagers that are watching. we have gotten such an overwhelming response. again, what i really appreciate about dillon is that he's young and although he is 21 which is of course the legal drinking age, i do believe that his message will get through to the many teenagers, jc, who have been watching our reports. >> that's whawr' trying to do -- what you're trying to do, get through to the teenagers and also the parents. >> very much so. if our facebook walls and twitter accounts are any indication parents are talking

with their teenagers and that's a fantastic start. >> that's important because many parents do not know what their teenagers are doing. thank you so much. 9 wants you to know dillon's story. it's going to air tonight right here on channel 9 on 9news now at 11:00. still ahead, today's zero central honors an organization that helps more homeless shelters and transitional housing become more livable. you want to see it. also coming up, we're going to tell you which super bowl ad featuring dogs was the favorite.

nearly four months after setting up their encampment, occupy protesters in d.c. are now having to abide by the no sleeping rules. crews in hazmat suits checked tents at freedom plaza. protesters watched as officers threw away bedding and some tents. but the police inspection of freedom plaza on sunday was much less volatile than saturday morning's sweep through mcpherson square. there officers shoved unruly protesters away from the encampment and they made 11

arrests. some churches are now offering protesters a place to sleep. for the second time in four seasons, the new york giants are the super bowl champions. new york trailed by 4 in the 4th quarter but quarterback eli manning led the giants on an 88- yard touchdown drive and then the new york patriots had 57 seconds for a drive of their own. on the last play of the game, patriots quarterback tom brady throws up a hail mary. but it failed. so new york wins 21-17. for 24 years our partners at "u.s.a. today" have gathered people in a room in order to rate the super bowl commercials. here's a little bit of their favorite.

♪ >> number one choice was the dog in the doritos commercial where the dog pays off a man with doritos to keep quiet about the cat that he's done away with. several other commercials featuring dogs also rated near the top. you know, losing your home, it's a tremendous blow but one area organization is helping the homeless have a nicer place to stay when they get back on their feet. that's coming up in today's central report. -- hero central report. enjoy the mild and pleasant conditions because we've got a shot at some winter weather coming this way. i've got your full forecast, including the seven-day coming up after the break.

closet for six years a little girl was locked in a closet and now is a young woman. she breaks her silence on the dr. phil show which will air on wusa9 at 4:00 p.m. our anita brikman recently talked to dr. phil of one of the most mind boggling cases of abuse. >> we'll meet a young woman held captive in a closet. when i say she was held captive, this little girl hadn't seen sunshine. this girl never felt grass under her feet. this little girl was held captive in this closet and was

only taken out to rape, to sexually abuse. >> you can see the girl in the closet right here on channel 9 beginning at 4:00 p.m. today. let's talk about more pleasant things, the weather. >> yes. it is pleasant outside. temperatures are going to be well into the 50s today, jc and the mild weather sticks around for a couple of days. enjoy it now because we've got some changes coming this way in the form of clouds and also some wintry weather potentially where we could see that the next couple of days. but for now we've got lots of sunshine. here's a look at your michael & son weather camera. lots of beautiful blue skies, lots of sun. the temperature is 50 degrees, mostly sunny. winds west, southwest at 9 miles per hour. and we're going to see sun continue all day today through tomorrow. temperatures reaching -- topping out in the mid-50s by 3:00. by 5:00 in the low 50s. by 7:00 47 degrees, clear skies tonight and then by 9:00 in the mid-40s.

so it's going to be a really nice day, especially for the beginning of january. it's nice because of the high pressure that is in control through today and through tomorrow. we did see some areas of dense fog around cumberland earlier this morning but that fog has lifted. still cold out in cumberland. 34 degrees. hagerstown lower 40s. in d.c. it's 50 of the gaithersburg mid-40s. a little cooler in york at 44. fredricksburg is up to 50 degrees at this hour. pax river in the upper 40s. around the beltway, temperatures around upper 40s to low 50s. great falls at 47. fairfax at 49. springfield at 50. alexandria pushing near 50 degrees. and laurel, good afternoon you to, it is 51 degrees. so here's a look at the national picture. fairly quiet with the exception of the southeast where in florida they've got this area of low pressure dropping in lots of rain and some showers and thunderstorms around miami. maybe one to three inches of

rain expected by tuesday afternoon. but here in the mid-atlantic, thanks to high pressure, we're going to see tslo of sunshine and some really pleasant conditions and some mild weather for this time of year. our 9 future cast showing us clear skies today. it's going to be a gorgeous day. that continues through tomorrow. we have a little bit of a chance for some snow well north of us into northern new york tonight and into northern new england. just some flurries no major storm expected. tuesday looks just great. then wednesday morning we've got the clouds pushing in and you see the blue. that is the snow coming in wednesday afternoon to the west and north of us. cumberland may see some light snow showers, maybe some flurries and in the d.c. area as well through wednesday night into early thursday morning. no major accumulations are expected. temperatures for today reaching to the mid-50s around downtown. 56 in manassas. culpeper 55. lower 50s for hagerstown. upper 40s for hagerstown rather. overnight cold once again in the 30s. mid-30s in downtown.

andrews air force base 36. culpeper you're cooling down to 34 degrees. here's how the next couple of days are shaping up. you like today? tomorrow is going to be gorgeous again. on wednesday we're going to be colder. mostly cloudy, 42. a chance for some snow showers coming through. thursday mid-40s. friday upper 40s. get ready for the weekend. we have a shot of some cold air coming through. temperatures only topping out in the mid-30s by sunday. be right back.

hey there. "hey" yourself. brad needs car insurance, but, uh, brad doesn't want to spend too much. who's brad? this is brad. ahh! well, progressive has lots of discounts for a guy like brad. brad's intrigued. paid in full, safe driver, multi-car, going paperless -- all can help brad save a bunch. sign brad up. cool! jamie will ring you up. show brad the way.

who's brad? oh, here we go again. discounts that everyone can use. now, that's progressive. call or click today. in northern virginia, there are thousands upon thousands of homeless people. for the past ten years, home aid northern virginia has been partnering with organizations to ease and erase that problem. for today i feature the nonprofit organization on hero central. >> reporter: homemade northern virginia is building hope in the community. they provide the necessary resources to help homeless people get back on their feet. today at this shelter in alexandria, major improvements

have been made to the facility. >> we've added a lot of storage so we can take in donations in our pantries, store the mats where we do our win at the shelter and have space for office supplies. it's made a huge difference in all the services as well as the environment for our clients. this space was not available. it was not here before the renovation. >> reporter: when homemade northern virginia steps in, some renovations are small. summer major. but they all impact people's lives and aid them in rebuilding their future. >> people say i'm going to a homeless shelter. you already have one idea in your mind but coming in they were very helpful and friendly. the place is clean. surprisingly, you know, they made us feel very comfortable. even though we're in a horrible situation, they don't make us feel like we're in that situation. >> reporter: home aid is a beacon of light for organizations that need help.

homeless shelters, transitional housing units, food banks, medical clinics and others find maintaining their properties can be a daunting task. that's where home aid northern virginia comes to the rescue. >> our goal is to save these shelters much needed funds so that they can support the services and the programs for the people and that they don't have to worry about the renovations or the upkeep of some of their shelters and their facilities because that can be a drain on resources and we want to save them money. that's our goal. >> reporter: homeaid has relationships with builders, subcontractors and suppliers who want to give back to the community. their generosity is keeping families together glued by love and attention. >> for me it's a great win-win- win collaborative partnership between carpenter's shelter, the builders and homeaid. >> homeaid and its partners have completed more than 45 projects valued at over $10 million.

if you would like to see this story again or if you'd like to get some more information for homeaid, just go to jchayward.com and select the hero central tab. thank you so much for being with us. come back and join us at 5:00. have a great day. bye-bye.